Collapsible chair



Oct. 28, 1952 G. J. THOMAS 2,615,500

COLLAPSIBLE CHAIR Filed April 29, 1950 3 SheetS-Sheet l f? frat/VEZ Oct.28, 1952 G. J. THOMAS 2,615,500

COLLAPSIBLE CHAIR Filed April 29, 195o s sheets-sheet 2 4 INVENTOR.

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COLLAPSIBLE CHAIR Filed April 29, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 lc/ 6.81 /2 g 6g1N V EN TOR.

frromvif Patented Oct. 28, 1952 OFFICE@4 ooLLAPsIBLE CHAIR Garrett J.Thomas, zien, nl.

Application April 29, 1950, Serial No. 159,003 v claims. p (ci. 15s-14s)Myfinvention relates to improvements in collapsible chairs or seats andsimilar devices.

My invention relates more particularly to a chair or seat of the typeespecially adapted for use by application to boat seats, bleacher seatsor other places where the user is either a spectator at a sports eventor a participant and desires to have a more comfortable seat andpositionthan those normally provided at such events.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide acollapsible all-purpose chair of the type described, the chair havinglegs and a back rest all capable of folding so that in a folded orcollapsed position the ch-air itself is of the approximate thickness ofthe seat frame.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved collapsiblech-air of the type de-.-

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved constructionof seat frame whereby the side walls of the same are sloped downwardlybelow the seat level for better comfort in sitting upon the same. I

A further object is to provide an improved-construction of collapsibleseat or chair including novel attaching means for connecting the same toa boat seat, bleacher seat or similar flat support whereby the seat isused with the legsy collapsed and folded within the seat frame.

Other objects and advantages will be more apparent from the followingdescription wherein` reference is had to the accompanying three sheetsof drawings, upon which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of my improved chair construction,with the side supports of the back rest broken away and foreshortened;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional View through the left handcorner of the seat and leg construction shown in Fig. l, illustratingthe manner in which the leg is disposed at an angle so that the Weightof the chair and its occupant rather than being taken by the pivot oftheleg is supported within the seat frame exclusively; Fig. 3 is a bottomplan view of the collapsible chair in a collapsed positionshowingthemanner in which the two leg sections are collapsed within the seatframeand the back rest is also collapsed within the plane of the same;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary plan view showing the seat, seat frame, and aportion of the legs of the chair Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sideelevational view showing the U-bolt sections for attaching the chairseat to a boat, bleacher or similar seat for use thereon;

Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view through the chair in collapsed positionAtaken on the` line 6-6 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional View through the leg pivot and its supportin the seat frame taken` generally on the line 'I--l of Fig. 4;

Fig. 8 is a side elevational View on a reduced parts shown in Fig. 9;and

Fig. 11 is a reduced perspective viewof the' chair completely collapsedwith a strap fastener vfor fastening the back rest in collapsedposition.

In the embodiment of the invention which vI have chosen to illustrateand describe the same, I'have shown a collapsible chair which may gen--erally comprise a seat frame I0 supported by the U-shaped left leg orsupport membery I2 and the similar U-shaped right leg or support memberI4, the seat frame having a back rest I6 connected thereto. The backrest may include the U-shaped back rest frame I 8 which is pivotallymounted at its lower ends on the pivot members 20 and 22r and a flexiblecanvas strip 24 formed with the loops 28 and 26 to be received by theside legs of the frame member I8.

The back rest in the position shown in Figs-8 rests against stop members30 which extend outwardly from the side Walls of the seat framel memberI n to limit the raised angular position of the back rest and also forma stop to limit the downward movement of the back when lit is folded asshown in dotted lines in Fig. 8 and in Fig. 11.

Theseat frame I0 is preferably of cast metal and rectangular in shape,having a generally inverted channe1` shape in cross section. The frontand back sides 32 and 34 have algenerally dat upper surface yandparallelvertical Walls, whilethe side walls 36 and 38 are generallyU-shaped, as best shown in cross-section in Fig. 10. The side walls havean angular portion 40 extending upwardly to meet the forward and backwall sections 32 and 34, the side walls being purposely lower than thefront and back edges of the seat for a purpose which will presently beapparent.

I provide a canvas or similar exible cloth seat S which is easilyconnected to the seat frame. For this purpose I provide the elongatedslots 42 and 44 in the front and rear walls 32 and 34 of the seat framerespectively. The seat may be formed 44 and a similar dowel pin 52inserted in the back v wall of the frame through a drilled opening 54 inthe side wall thereof. In this manner it can be seen that the seat iseasily and quickly attached to the seat frame and is incapable oiloosening even though long and hard usage is given the chair. Because ofthe fact that the side walls 36 and 38 have their top below the plane ofthe end walls 32 and 34, the hard edges of the frame do not engage orcontact the user and a very comfortable seat is thus provided.

The U-shaped legs or support members previously mentioned are adapted tobe pivoted at their upper ends upon pin members EB (see Figs. 2, 3 and7), the pin members 50 being driven through an opening in the side wallsof the seat frame and through suitable bosses B2 in the side wall 36 andbosses 34 in the side wall 38. Each of the U-shaped support members l2and i4 have a reduced extension EB which fits between the bosses 62 andis provided with an elongated slot 68 to receive the pivot pin memberE0. Each of the support members i4 is provided with a reduced extensionwhich fits between the bosses 64'and has an elongated slot 'i2 toreceive a pivot pin 60.

The four corners of the seat frame are provided with openings 'i4 whichmay receive the reduced ends or extensions of the support members i2 andI4 when the supports are in the position-shown in Figs. 1 and 2, thesupport members thus support the seat frame by means of the extension inthe opening 'i4 and by bearing against a side wall 16 of the seat frame.In addition, the upper edge 18 of each end of the support member bearsagainst the lower edge of the bosses 62 and 64 respectively, so thatwhen the U-shaped support members are in a seat supporting position noweight whatsoever is placed upon the pivot pins 6B. Thus it can be seenthat both the construction and the assembly of the supports to the seatframe are easily and quickly accomplished and the structure in use isexceptionally rigid and strong so that it willlnot easily become brokenor out of order.

When it is desired to collapse the chair, the legs or support membersmay be pulled down on the pivot 60 by means of the elongated slot S3 andfolded in the position shown in Fig. 3 and in dotted lines in Fig. 2.Thus the seat support members in a collapsed position are completelyenclosed in and concealed within the seat frame member.

Means have also been provided for connectingv or attaching thecollapsiblechair in the form of a seat to bleachers, boat seats, orother supports. This construction may include a pair ofV U-bolts outbecoming broken or out of order.

30 normally held in horizontal position below the seat S against stops82 by means of a coiled spring 84. The U-bolts are mounted in a pair oflug members 86 which extend inwardly from the side walls 3E and 38,being held therein by means of a plate 88 screw-threadedly connnectedthereto. When it is desired to connect the seat to a boat seat or otherflat support, the U-bolts are swung to a 90 degree angle and connectedas shown in Fig. 5 to the support.

From the above and foregoing description it will be clear to thoseskilled in the art that I have provided a collapsible chair which, dueto the detail of construction, is exceptionally rugged and capable ofmuch rough and hard handling with- Due to the construction of thesupports and the manner in which they lock with the seat frame in use,it

can be seen that fragile vpivots such as the comparatively small pins6|) can be used to pivot the same, and due to this construction andtheshape of the seat frame, they can also be folded so that they are outof sight and collapsed within the seat frame when not in use.

It can also be seen that the back rest which is rigidly supported ineither the closed or open position, is capable of collapsing or foldingso that the entire seat or chair when not in use occupies a spaceapproximately the size of the seat frame itself. kFor packing, carryingor shipping, this is of the utmost importance. The manner in which theseat itself is secured to the seat frame makes it possible to quicklyand easily assemble the seats to the seat frames, and when the seat mustbe removed or replaced it can be seen that this is a comparativelysimple and quickoperation.

While I have illustrated one complete example of theV physicalembodiment of my invention according to the best mode which I-have thusfar devised, it will be understood that various changes and alterationsmay be made in the exempliiied structure within the scope of theappended claims.

I claim:

l. A collapsible chair having a rectangularly shaped seat frame formedof an inverted channel-shaped member, a flexible seat secured thereto, aback rest pivotally attached to the `sides of said seat frame at theback corners thereof and legs extending downwardly therefrom, and legscapable of being folded within said channel shaped member. f

2. A collapsible chair having a rectangularly shaped seat frame formedof an inverted channelshaped member, a flexible seat secured thereto, aback rest pivotally att-ached to the sides of said seat frame at theback corners thereof and legs extending downwardly therefrom, said legscapa ble of being folded within said channel shaped members of said seatframe, said legs being U-shaped frames pivotally connected by their endsin the corners of said frame.

3. A collapsible chair including a rectangularly shaped seat framehaving an inverted channel shaped cross section, a exible seat connectedacross the top of said seat frame, a pair or" U-shaped support memberspivotally connected to said seat frame and extending downwardlytherefrom, a pivotally mounted back rest connected to the sides thereof,openingsl in the corners of said seat frame adapted to receive reducedextensions at the upper ends of said support members and shoulders onsaid support membersbelow ends and shoulders adjacent said ends, each ofl ends connected to said pivots, openings in the walls of said seatframe adjacent said pivots adapted to receive the upper ends of saidsupport members, a back rest in the form of a frame having arm portionspivotally connected on opposite sides of said seat frame and U-shapedmembers connected on the inside of said seat frame capable of beingswung down to form hook members to connect to a support member.

5. A combined collapsible chair or seat including a rectangularly shapedseat frame having downwardly directed channel shaped walls, pivotspositioned in the four corners of said seat frame, U-shaped supportmembers having their upper ends connected to said pivots, openings inthe walls of said seat frame adjacent said pivots adapted to receive theupper ends of said support members, a back rest in the form of a framehaving arm portions pivotally connected on opposite sides of said seatframe, and U-shaped members connected on the inside of said seat framecapable of being swung down to form hook members to connect to a.support member, said U-shaped support members disposed at an angleoutwardly from their upper ends to bear against the outer legs of thechannel shaped walls of said seat frame whereby none of the weight onthe chair is carried by said pivots.

6. A combined collapsible chair or seat including a rectangularly shapedseat frame having downwardly directed channel shaped walls, downwardlydisposed bosses in thevfour corners of said seat frame, a pivot pin ineach of said bosses, U-shaped support members having reduced upper endsand shoulders adjacent said ends, each of said ends having an elongatedslot therein to receive a pivot pin, sockets in the top wall of saidseat frame to receive the reduced upper ends of said U-shaped supportmembers. said support members adapted to be pulled down to disengage theupper endsfrom said sockets to permit collapsing of said members.

lapsed capable of lying inside 7. A combined collapsible chair or lseatincluding a rectangularly shaped seat frame having downwardly directedchannel shaped walls, downwardly disposed bosses in the four corners ofsaid seat frame, a pivot pin in each of said bosses, U-shaped supportmembers having reduced upper said ends having an elongated slot thereinto receive a pivot pin, sockets in the top wall of said seat frame toreceive the reduced upper ends of said U-shaped support members, saidsupport members adapted to be pulled down to disengage the upper endsfrom said sockets to permit:l collapsing of said'members, and a backrest in the form of a framehaving arm portions pivotally connected onopposite vsides of said seat frame and a stop member adjacent saidpivotal connection to limit the open or closed movement of said backrest.

8. A collapsible chair including a vrectangularly shaped seat framehaving downwardly directed channel shaped walls, a pivot pin adjacenteach corner of the same, a pair of U-shaped support members mounted onsaid pivots at the co1- ners of said seat frame, the upper end of eachof said U-shaped support members having a slotted connection with itspivot, said seat frame having openings adjacent each of said pivots toreceive the ends ofrsaid U-shaped support members to thereby take theweight of an occupantupon the seat frame instead of upon said pivotsduring use, said U-shaped support members when colof said channel shapedWalls.

- GARRETT J. THOMAS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

